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I don't think that you would have any trouble with the true upside down catfish eating the neons. They only grow up to around 4" and their natural diet consists of mosquito larvea that they collect from the surface of the water. They also graze on the underside of large leaves, rocks and pieces of wood. I've never seen or heard of the true upside down cats eating small fish. Great little scavengers!

Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn. ~Chuck Clark

Mandy - if you are still looking for an algae eater, instead of the upside down cat, you might think about an Albino bristle nose pleco. They are a real pretty pale yellow and so busy and so much fun. I LOVE mine. He's out and about most of the day and when I give him watermelon or zucchini or asparagus, you've never seen such tail wagging and fin flaring. <g> He's a sweet little fish, loves to hang on his bog wood (found a small sized piece that sank immediately) and he sometimes hangs on the glass.
I also have 2 apple snails (blue and yellow) and the snails also love the melon and veggies but the little BNP just gets right in there and noses them off HIS food. He's not supposed to get any larger than 4 inches either which is a plus.

I don't have an algae problem so I supplement his diet with the veggies and some algae pellets that he shares with the cory cats.
Anyway - I saw a post from Mid aug where you were looking for an algae eater and then saw this one so I thought I'd mention the BNP as an option if you're still looking.